Electric vehicles (EVs) are clearly a growing segment of the transportation world. The continued challenge of EVs however remains the need for a robust charging infrastructure that will meet an operators' charging needs. While solutions are available in high density areas where the vehicles are primarily used for commuting and shorter drives, the problem becomes more complex for EVs utilized in long distance or remote driving.
In places that are connected to a reliable electrical grid, one solution is to simply set up enough charging stations to meet the demand. However, in remote areas and areas with an unreliable grid, solutions become more challenging. One approach is to set up local energy charging islands that for example rely on solar, wind or water power to generate and store localized (i.e., non-grid based) electrical power for EVs. For example, in desert locations and the like, there is often an abundance of solar energy that can be exploited with a solar farm. The solar energy collected from the farm can be stored in a micro storage facility and sold roadside to EV operators.
Inherent limitations of local energy charging islands however include the fact that because they are not connected to a grid, the stations can only provide a limited amount of electricity over any given period. Local energy charging stations do not have the virtually unlimited charging capabilities of grid based charging stations.